LSE Library launches The Women's Library @ LSE Online

The Library at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has launched The Women’s Library @ LSE Online|, providing a timeline presentation of 155 items relating to women’s history, as well as digital access to rare books, print and archival material, dating from the 16th century to the present day.

The Women’s Library @ LSE timeline allows users to take a historical journey through the personal, political and economic struggles that have symbolised women’s battle for equality through the ages, presenting a representative sample of the range of unique materials contained within the collection.

The timeline is optimised so that users can easily find items of interest, with each entry featuring a description from the Library’s experts. Highlights include A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, Emily Wilding Davison’s return railway ticket on the day of her protest at the 1913 Epsom Derby, and Women’s Liberation’s Four Demands from the National Women's Liberation Movement.

Elizabeth Chapman, Director of LSE Library Services, said:

“The Women’s Library @ LSE Timeline is an excellent platform to showcase a selection of important materials from the Library’s collection. The project continues the Library’s commitment to bring our collection to the wider public as we strive to engage with audiences and support research in new and innovative ways.”

The digitisation work on The Women’s Library @ LSE is part of LSE Library’s extensive plans to use technology to increase public access to its collections. During 2012, the Library launched PhoneBooth, an interactive website and smartphone app featuring Charles Booth’s socio-economic maps of London.

In June 2013, the Library launched its Emily Wilding Davison Online Exhibition, commemorating the life and death of the suffragette on the centenary of her protest at the Epsom Derby. The Library is also partnering with Arts Council England to develop Women’s Walks, a smartphone app that will allow users to engage with archive materials from women’s history as they walk through the streets of London. Women’s Walks will be available in early 2014.

The Women's Library @ LSE is Britain's primary resource on women’s history and the women's movement. A unique and internationally renowned collection, it holds UNESCO-recognised documents and is recognised for its rare and historic materials concerning the foundations of the rights of women. The collection developed from the suffrage movement and now includes over 60,000 books and pamphlets, and over 3,500 periodicals and press cuttings. In addition it includes 500 personal and organisational archives and over 5,000 objects such as posters, photographs, badges and banners. The collection has been under the custodianship of LSE Library since January 2013.

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